Why Wycliffe Ethiopia?

20million evangelical members and the rest of other Christian groups like the EOC and RCC should get ready for claiming the Mission of Bible translation.

Understand the alarming growth of African Churches more specially the Ethiopian Evangelical Churches, ignoring the involvement of individual missionaries in Bible translation mission is unthinkable.

Wycliffe Ethiopia recognizes that in order to achieve Vision 2025 in Ethiopia and beyond, it requires a multidimensional approach and there is no one way of doing it! Plus it cannot be done alone but with Church partners, par-church organizations.

Wycliffe Ethiopia also recognizes the importance of alliance building within the country more importantly with Evangelical churches of Ethiopia for the sole reason of the mission of Bible translations is the Churches’ Mission not individuals. Currently the church has proven itself by providing personnel to the Bible translation and scripture use from six denominations. This in its own speaks that the Ethiopian Churches commitment towards the mission of Bible translation is uncompromisable.

Wycliffe Ethiopia also recognizes that the Mission of Bible translation should include every believer individually and a church collectively in support of the mission and there has to be a way where excluded church denominations and individuals should be available as partners. One opportunity of doing that is through this interdenominational local organization called Wycliffe Ethiopia.

We also recognize that the world at the beginning of the 21st Century is significantly different from the world of the first 70 years of the 20th Century where mission and missionaries were from the global North! The beginning of the 21st Century we see the church in the global south and east that is now dominant in numbers as well as missions. This vivid evidence of mission change has awakened the Evangelical churches of Africa, South America and Aisa to take its turn in leading the world of mission where Wycliffe Ethiopia is also privileged to take and be part through the membership of Wycliffe Global Alliance this is a great mission awakening movement.

Let us discuss further what we mean when we say the paradigm shaft of mission is from the global North to the global South:

A number of research shows that the beginning of the 20th Century, at least 80% of the Christians in the world lived in Europe and North America. This would include Commonwealth countries such as Australia and New Zealand. The mission movement that came out of the 19th century carried into the 20th century. An underlying assumption of the paradigm of this movement was “from the West to the rest of the world”. It made sense since the rest of the world had few churches able to meet the challenge of making disciples of all nations. Therefore, the church in Africa, Asia and latin America more specifically the church in Ethiopia in coloration with the global north should satisfying the alarming need of bible translation among ethnic minorities because of the paradigm shift of mission. It is noticeable that two-thirds to three-fourths of those who are Christians are now found in the global south and east.

Therefore Wycliffe Ethiopia believes that Vision 2025 in Ethiopia should be rebuilt and be perused under the framework of establishing an indigenous Bible translation mission that does not wholly dependant on the money that comes from global north only but of the locals and the global south.

It is becoming true that the ever increase of African/Ethiopian theologians and Translation consultants are on board and recognized this wealth of educated, human resources and building a sustainability Bible Translation mission through them is a great opportunity for Ethiopian Churches. If we ignore these educated, Bible translation consultants, literacy experts, scripture use experts and translation project managers throughout the county, the Church will risk the vibrancy of the Bible translation movement in the future, a movement that is to serve every generation.